Discussion

Weinberg's The Deli opened in North Raleigh

Weinberg's has opened its doors. May it be open for a long time to come and may the food be truly representative of great deli's from around the nation. I'll check it out tonight and write back either tomorrow or Weds.

They are located off Falls of The Neuse Road. I think in the same center as the Kroger on the corner of Strickland.

It was "the economy". As I stated I went there twice and stated they wouldn't last two years. They weren't that good.

Went to Weinberg's tonight and have their menu. Will post with menu tomorrow. I will say that it reminds me of the Jewish delis you may see in say Boca thats not a bad thing just more that type of menu and feel than a NY deli.

As mentioned in my previous post, Weinberg's reminds me of the Deli/Diner's that my grandparent's would take me to down in the Ft. Lauderdale/Pompano area of Florida moreso than a NY deli. This was their first day and so things were moving a bit slowly. I'm not sure if it was solely due to it being their first day, but they did seem somewhat understaffed.

They do have kosher meats, but they also have non kosher meats and meals. The restaurant is very simple in its layout. When you walk in you have an open dining room to your left and the counter (with cookies and such closest, than meats, then knishes and salads) and register to your right. Separating this area is a mid height partition with around 5 bar tables with two chairs. I think it would be in their best interest to create a waiting area for those people who walk in to order take out or just to get some goodies or meat in bulk.

The menu has a good selection, but could use some more information on it such as.. if the kugel is sweet or not and how much a given meat or cheese is by the pound. The waitress who was taking care of me and pretty much everyone else tried to do her best about whether certain items were available. Cel-Rey was definite out but on the way as was Marble Rye.

In any case, I ordered the standard for myself which was hot pastrami on rye which comes with chips. I also ordered a piece of kugel which you can see in the photo though ti is a little fuzzy. I was sitting at one of the bar tables because it was only me and why take up a whole booth or table. It took them 30 mins but I gave that a pass and it was certainly better than this other recently closed deli taking 90 mins with fewer customers. Much to my chagrin they use a slicer to slice the meat rather than hand slicing as I had suggested to them awhile back. This may be faster or easier but I think the quality degrades a notch and the slices tend to be thinner. Anyways, the sandwich was good. The bread held its shape and didn't get soggy and the meat had some flavor and wasn't overly greasy. They offer two different cuts of pastrami.. navel and first cut. The kugel was also good and piping hot. I overlooked the matzo ball soup this time as it wasn't very cold out. Also, there were no condiments on the bar tables, but there was yellow mustard on the other tables (but no deli/spicy brown tsk tsk) My only long standing complaint is that I'm in Durham and they are way over in N. Raleigh in the same shopping center as St. Jacques just at the other end. I think that location may be a killer though.

My suggestions for improvement are to have a system in place in the event they run out of an item such as pasta salad or a certain soda. Also label your kugel or make both one sweet and one not. They had Kasha Varnishkes with only one dish and I think it should be offered as a side or an appetizer. I would like thicker slices of the meat I think rather than piled thin slices. Please put mustard on all tables and don't forget dijon and spicy brown mustard.

We've already got friends asking to go there so there is interest in the deli. I just want to wait a little longer until they've had the time to sort themselves out a bit. And get in some brown mustard. Yellow mustard only in a Jewish-style deli? Really?

I didn't ask so this is an assumption but only based on the rarity that kasha knishes are served in these areas. I'm fairly certain they are potato. I'm not sure how they heat them up, but they were heating them by putting them in those cupboard like ovens (sorta what you see the pizza by the slice places use to heat up things). It was sweet kugel in this case it tasted like.. apple I think and was made with noodle (no raisins). Kosher brands I don't remember I know it was a mix. I think there was Hebrew National, I think there was one that was like Seitzer. I just don't remember but I do remember looking to see if they were kosher. No kishke or if there was it wasn't listed on the menu. What you see on the menu is what they had in some form. Given that it was their first day.. I don't know if they will run specials in the future. For the other poster that mentioned there is deli mustard you have to ask.. that is the point it should be the other way around. You should have to ask for yellow mustard (heck you should have to ask for ketchup but I realize this is the south).

Chazzer - I hope your nose wouldn't be that high in the air for the only deli of that style around at the moment. I'd sooner go to HT than not give them my business as I could use the mustard at home later. I realize your comment may be partly in jest, but it doesn't help trying to garner a crowd for the place. They'll learn.. I hope.

I don't think it needs to be said, but I'll say it anyways.. I am not affiliated with this business.

My comment was not meant to be nose in the air, but after paying $10 for a sandwich I would want to enjoy it which is something that I would not do with yellow mustard. I already have plans to go for lunch within the next week.

Sorry if my comment sounded like a sucker punch. It wasn't until after I started eating my sandwich that I saw mustard on the tables. I enjoyed my sandwich dry. If there was a comment box or a suggestion area for the things that tend to get brought up on here, I did not see it. Also there is a private area for small functions.

Thanks for the response. I know I threw a load of questions at you that I didn't have any reason to expect you could answer, but I thought I'd take a shot. I appreciate your efforts.

Btw, "specials" is deli slang for knockwurst. I have no idea how the term came to be, so if anyone knows, please chime in. And I know that you're not connected with the business, but Mr. Sourcream down below (jsmetana) almost certainly is. That is to whom I was referring.

My girlfriend works there and I simply had lunch there yesterday. I do not know the answers to your questions however, I do know that the mustard they got was in packets and not in bottles which is why they were not on the tables. The bottles are coming.

I also realize in hindsight that all nuance got lost in my writing. I didn't necessarily mean to be snide and I honestly think that "smetana" would be a very clever handle for someone in the deli business. Either than or you really like Slavic classical music.

Was there for lunch today. They provided packets of Gulden mustard by request but did mention that their "bulk" mustard hasn't come in yet so deli mustard purists can take heart.

I started with a menu item called 3 Little Rascals -- a choice of 3 deli meats on mini challahs w/ 2 salads -- a good sampler. Liked the pastrami a lot (I know from Katz's on the Lower East Side and while not quite at that standard it was in the same ballpark). the corned beef not quite so much (OK but needed more flavor). and the brisket -- good flavor but a bit dry. The potato salad was excellent -- authentic.

My big disappointment was the cole slaw which was so sweet I couldn't eat it, but I've been on a quest for non-sweet cole slaw in the Triangle and have struck out down here. Good deli slaw is a personal thing with me. I spoke briefly with a guy I assume is the owner. He says he gets his deli salads from a supposedly famous New York caterer called Sally Sherman, but I don't remember cole slaw so sweet. He did say they will be making their own slaw in the future and will offer 2 options. I'm kinda curious to know if it's just me. So, CHs, please do me a favor. If you agree with me that their slaw has too much sugar, please speak up. Come to think of it, a good deli slaw shouldn't need ANY sugar.

They had 2 kinds of pickles -- sour and half sour -- both decent renditions. And, yes, they do carry Dr Brown's sodas. I admit that when I saw they carried Pepsi products I freaked until I saw the Dr Brown's listed (along with an egg cream.)

So, while I just made one foray and haven't tried the matzoh ball soup (the ultimate test) and while it's not perfect. I feel like shouting, "HOT DOG!" We finally have ourselves a Jewish- style deli.

Health salad and Israeli salad are two different things. Health salad is a vinegar-based cole slaw, more or less, and has a long history of being served in delis while Israeli salad is is cubed tomato and cucumber and maybe some other fresh things dressed in a lemon-based dressing. It isn't usually served in delis.

But I sure would like to see a health salad in place of standard cole slaw on my plate.

Had lunch there today with a friend. I had the Belly Pastrami (Pastrami should be fat and not lean), coleslaw and shared a knish, my friend had the Reuben. I think that I will wait a few weeks and give them another try. They need time to figure out what's going on and train the staff as to what they are doing.

Like burgeoningfoodie, the sandwiches were good but not great. The bread had a little difficulty holding its own to the meat, less so for the Reuben since it was grilled. and I liked the coleslaw, I found it more like the northern version I grew up on.

My biggest pet peeve with delis is how they warm up the knish. My problem used to be if they microwave it you ended up with a soggy plate of mashed potatoes. After today I will add deep frying knishes to my DON'T list. It is a very bad thing. While it was hot, and the crust crispy, the knish was greasy and disgusting.

Don't know. Wish they did. Wish they steamed it too. Unfortunately with the economy and several other factors money and time have to be considered.. .hopefully without losing quality. Another thing that I was hoping for is that the rye would be that chewy dark rye instead of the fluffy rye like they have at Guglehupf and Neal's.

I was in earlier this week. The deli area had a bit of traffic and they were sold out of rugelach. They had sable!!!

I had the Sailer -a grilled pastrami and knockwurst sandwich. I spotted the yellow mustard immediately and asked if they had brown - the waitress said she would bring some out and the sandwich came with brown mustard on it. She immediately brought me a quarter slice of half sour and full sour. More were offered later in the meal.

Pastrami was sliced thin, moist with a nice amount of fat. I don't have an issue with machine sliced vs hand sliced, and I just don't see hand slicing as an accoutrement that our area will be able to sustain. Knockwurst wasn't as flavorful as some I've had. Sandwich seemed more toasted than grilled, but over all was good.

I had the potato salad as a side, seemed to be potatoes, mayo and minimal seasonings. I prefer mine with a little crunch of onion and celery, so I'll try the slaw next time.

I liked that many of the baked goods were smallish - mandel bread and some of the danishes. Often pastries are larger than my waistline likes. The mandel bread was very nice. Dusted with cinnamon and dry enough to crunch but not too hard. I tried a cheese danish (my endless quest) - the cheese was liquidy in a strange way - not bad, but not the style I like.

A fellow (owner?) came out from the kitchen and was chatting with the patrons. He seemed interested in feedback and I came away with the impression that they will keep tweaking and want us to be happy. He said challah and rye will always be available to purchase. Wasn't sure about holiday items like honey cake, but felt hamantash could be sourced.

Other random observations - The noise level could get high when crowded, not much to absorb sound decor-wise. Extra napkins on the table would be handy, fresh bread plus a nicely loaded sandwich equal a potential mess. But then I firmly believe that most of what's worth eating is messy!

No. This is not bargain restaurant, but I felt that for the quality and quantity the prices were not out of line. The meat is not piled as high as Katz's (in NYC), but there you will pay $16 (compared to $10 or $11 actually at Weinberg's) and that doesn't count the $3 tip to the counter guy. You can get the ubiquitous Boar's Head deli sandwich most anywhere around here for $9 which is meh. Try to find "very good" pastrami ANYWHERE else in the Triangle.

btw, we did try the matzoh ball soup which vastly exceeded expectations (admittedly not too high). I loved the homemade taste -- smallish MBs , but it also included noodles, big hunks of vegies, and good chicken. Some people may prefer a heavier had with salt but it was perfect for me and there is always that shaker on the table.

I do agree with you on the service. We had a very nice young man serve us who had never heard of caraway seeds (yes, they are in the rye bread) and earnestly asked if we wanted lettuce, tomatoes, and mayo (Feh!) on our pastrami a la the scene in Annie Hall. They are still learning.

And oh yes. They do have the deli mustard in -- just awaiting the jars for the tables.

The #1 Combo is 12.95 and had less meat than "The Rachel" which is a pastrami reuben.This place is expensive and only a notch better than Jason's Deli.Hopefully they'll work out some kinks and get better.

I recommend The Pig in Chapel Hill. About a 1 inch stack of house made pastrami with a little cup of sweet and sour slices pickles for $9. Call and ask if they have it before you go though, they have been out lately.

Eclaires are not hard to make at all. Mine turn out well.. though the last one I've eaten was either at Weaver St. or Southern Season. You may want to hit the local bakeries that have popped up for a cheese danish like Loaf in Durham or Bread and Butter in Chapel Hill.